Play Royal Birkdale — Without Leaving Winchester

Big news for our Toptracer bays: Royal Birkdale — the host of this month's Open Championship — has just joined our virtual course library. You can now step onto the turf of legends without leaving Winchester.

Birkdale's resume speaks for itself. Ten Open Championships (with number eleven happening right now, this summer), two Ryder Cups, and more than 70 years of hosting the very best in the game. This is the same iconic terrain that lifted Arnold Palmer and Jordan Spieth to victory in The Open — minus the Lancashire weather.

Take on the full course in Virtual Golf

The virtual recreation captures the daunting scale of the famous Birkdale dunes and the precision required to navigate its intriguing greens. If you've been watching the pros battle their way around it on TV, this is your chance to find out exactly how you'd fare on the same holes.

Closest to the Pin — the devilish 7th

Birkdale's 7th is also the new featured hole in Closest to the Pin. It's a masterpiece — the perfect embodiment of a well-bunkered short par 3. At 154 yards, it doesn't sound like much, but the green was redesigned ahead of this year's Open and it demands perfect execution to avoid four devilishly deep greenside bunkers — including the iconic donut bunker on the left.

A word of warning from me before you step up:

• The run-offs — anything slightly mishit risks feeding down into some of the deepest bunkers on the entire course.
• The false front — don't be fooled by the short yardage. The new green has steep run-offs all around, and it's the smallest, most undulating green on the course. Take enough club and commit to it.

"There's nothing quite like an Open venue for showing you where your game really is. Watch the pros tackle Birkdale this month, then come down to the academy and take it on yourself. Grab a bay with your mates, play the 7th in Closest to the Pin, and see who handles the donut bunker best — I'll be around if you'd like some pointers before you tee off."